Ostern

Western-inspired film genre

This article is about the film genre. For the holiday known as Ostern in German, see Easter.

Part of a series on

Westerns

* Media

* Film
* Television
* Literature
* Visual arts
* Dime novels
* Comics
* Wild West shows

* Subgenres

* Acid Western
* Australian Western
* Contemporary Western
* Dacoit Western
* Epic Western
* Fantasy Western
* Florida Western
* Gothic Western
* Horror Western
* Northern
* Ostern
* Revisionist Western
* Science fiction Western
* Singing cowboy
* Space Western
* Spaghetti Western
* Weird Western
* Western romance
* Zapata Western

* Lists

* Lists of Western films
* List of Western fiction authors
* List of Western television series
* Golden Boot Awards

* Terms

* Old West
* Cowboy culture
* Cowboy
* Gunfighter
* Outlaw
* Quick draw
* Saloon
* Manifest destiny

The Ostern ("Eastern"; Russian: истерн, romanized: Istern; or остерн) is a film genre created in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc as a variation of the Western films. The word Ostern is a portmanteau derived from the German word Ost, meaning "East", and the English word western. Two subgenres may be distinguished (although the terms may be used interchangeably):

* Red Westerns, set in America's "Wild West" but involving radically different themes and interpretations than US Westerns. These Westerns were mostly produced in the Eastern Bloc, especially in East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Examples of Red Westerns include Lemonade Joe or the Horse Opera (Czechoslovakia, 1964), The Sons of Great Bear (East Germany, 1966), The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (Romania, 1981), and A Man from the Boulevard des Capucines (USSR, 1987).
* Easterns (Osterns) were set domestically on the steppes and Central Asian regions of the USSR, typically during the Russian Revolution or the following Civil War. Easterns were presented in a style heavily influenced by American Western films. Examples of this genre include The Elusive Avengers (1966) and its sequels, White Sun of the Desert (1970), Dauria (1971), At Home Among Strangers (1974) and The Bodyguard (1979).

## Context and origins

[edit]

American Westerns were among the US films imported into the early Soviet Union.[1] As a result, certain Soviet films at the time are seen to incorporate Western elements. For example, the image of the Western cowboy is used to symbolize the United States and the West as a whole in the Soviet silent comedy The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (1924). Red Devils is a revolutionary action film that also borrows from the Western genre. As cultural restrictions tightened during the Stalinist era, however, Western-inspired films in the Soviet Union became rare. However, Stalin was an avid enjoyer of Hollywood Western films, and is argued by some to have desired the Western genre within the Soviet Union.[2]

### Emergence of the Ostern genre

[edit]

1957's Miles of Fire is one of the earliest examples of a Soviet Western as it was released years before the Ostern genre became formalized and prevalent. The Western genre saw a resurgence in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, largely resulting from the Khrushchev Thaw. In 1962, the USSR allowed for the screening of certain US and foreign films. The Magnificent Seven, an American Western starring Steve McQueen, become the most successful of these films commercially, becoming an instant cult classic amongst Soviet moviegoers.[3] The overwhelming popularity and commercial demand of films like The Magnificent Seven enticed Soviet filmmakers and state-run film institutions to experiment with Western elements in their own productions, resulting in the creation of the Soviet Western.[4]

The Czechoslovakian comedy Lemonade Joe or the Horse Opera (1964) gained popularity amongst Soviet citizens and those in the Eastern Bloc.[5] Though the film is largely a parody of the Western genre, its commercial success nonetheless furthered the familiarity of Western tropes within the Eastern Bloc and the general Soviet audience.

Karl May's Treasure of the Silver Lake, West Germany, co-production with Yugoslavia, was seminal for the beginning of the era of German Red Westerns. The film prompted a highly successful series of Indianerfilme ("Indian Films") about Winnetou and others, produced by the East German DEFA studios.[6] The East German The Sons of the Great Bear (1966) was a seminal Red Western that turned the traditional American "Cowboy and Indian" conventions on their head, casting the Native Americans as the heroes and the American Army as the villains, a motif inspired by highly successful German Osterns. These films were immensely popular among the East German audience, furthering the widespread German fascination of Native American culture[7] (see Native American Hobbyism in Germany).

A considerable strain into the genre was added by Romanian cinematographers, which included adaptations of Fenimore Cooper stories, with many of them being co-productions with Western directors.[6]

White Sun of the Desert (1970) stands out as the quintessential Ostern, with its release considered by some to usher in the "golden era" of Soviet Western film.[8] Set in rural Turkmenistan, the film incorporates many elemental Western characteristics, namely wide shots of empty skies and nature, transportation via horse and leather saddle, and the lone stoic protagonist. The film quickly obtained a cult-like status, with multiple catchphrases from the film making its way into casual conversation.[9]

## Other monikers in the genre

[edit]

### Gibanica Western

[edit]

"Gibanica Western" was a short-lived term for the Yugoslav equivalent of the Ostern, more commonly known as partisan film and, sometimes, the Partisan Western. They were made in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and were about the partisans in World War II. Gibanica is a traditional Balkan pastry, and the name of the genre is dubbed in an analogy with "spaghetti Western".[10]

### Goulash Western

[edit]

The Goulash Westerns are the Easterns of Hungarian director György Szomjas. He directed two films (The Wind Blows Under Your Feet and Wrong-Doers) in the 1970s, shot in the Hortobágy National Park, the best approximation of wastelands he could find in the country.[11]

## Notable Red Westerns and Osterns

[edit]

* 1924: The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks, a silent Soviet comedy film. An American millionaire hires a cowboy for his travel across the Soviet Union, but Soviet crooks fool them.[12] Plenty of chases and shootings. Critics consider it the beginning of a "golden age" of Soviet cinema.
* 1925: Red Devils, Soviet;[13][6]
* 1937: The Thirteen, Soviet; allegedly shot on an order of Joseph Stalin, who was a fan of Westerns[6]
* 1950: Brave People, Soviet; Norbert Franz hesitatingly writes that it had "little to do more with Westerns than the horses used".[4]
* 1957: Miles of Fire, Soviet[14]
* 1962: Treasure of the Silver Lake, West Germany, co-production with Yugoslavia; marks the beginning of the era of West German Westerns[6]
* 1964: Lemonade Joe, Czechoslovakia[5]
* 1966, The Sons of Great Bear, East Germany[15]

1966: The Elusive Avengers,[15] a remake of Red Devils[6]

* 1967: Chingachgook, die große Schlange, East Germany[15]
* 1968: Spur des Falken, East Germany[15]

1968: Weiße Wölfe, East Germany

* 1970: White Sun of the Desert, Soviet; "a slightly ironic Eastern", a box office hit with over 34 million viewers that year[16]

1970: Meeting at the Old Mosque [ru], Tajik SSR[17]
1970: ru:Конец атамана, Kazakh SSR; some classify it as Eastern, but on shaky grounds. It had three sequels with the same lead character, chekist Chadyarov[18]

* 1971: Dauria (two parts)[19]
* 1972: The Seventh Bullet, Uzbek SSR[20]
* 1973: The Headless Horseman, Soviet-Cuban Red Western
* 1974: At Home among Strangers[21]
* 1976 Talpuk alatt fütyül a szél [hu] (translated as "The Wind Blows Under Your Feet" or "The Wind is Whistling under Their Feet"), "Goulash Western" of György Szomjas[11]
* 1979 Wrong-Doers [hu], "Goulash Western" of György Szomjas[11]
* 1979: The Bodyguard, Tajik SSR[22]
* 1981: The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (Romania)

1981: Sing, Cowboy, Sing [de] comedy Western (tagged for ages 10 and up); "a failed attempt of a parody of Westerns for children"[23]

* 1987: A Man from the Boulevard des Capucines (USSR, 1987)
* 1993: The Wild East, Kazakhstan; postapocalyptic Eastern[24]
* 1995: Wolf Blood[25]

## See also

[edit]

* DEFA (film studio)
* Gojko Mitić, German-Serbian actor, best known for his roles of Native Americans in numerous DEFA Indianerfilme.
* Native American hobbyism in Germany, a hobby consisting of Germans impersonating American Indian culture.
* Vsevolod Ivanov, Soviet writer who was a formative influence on the Ostern.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Franz, Norbert P. [de], (2020). Hollywood - a Challenge for the Soviet Cinema: Four Essays, Germany: Universitätsverlag Potsdam.
2. ^ Lavrentiev, Sergey "Red Westerns", in Klein, Thomas/Ritzer, Ivo/Schulze, Peter W. (eds.) Crossing Frontiers. Intercultural Perspectives on the Western. Marburg: Schüren, 2012.
3. ^ Cinema in the Cold War pp. 81
4. ^ a b Franz, N. (2020) p. 166
5. ^ a b Franz, N. (2020) p. 168
6. ^ a b c d e f Sergey Lavrentiev, The Balkan Westerns of the Sixties
7. ^ Banhegyi, A. (2012). Where marx meets osceola: Ideology and mythology in the eastern bloc western.
8. ^ International Westerns: Re-Locating the Frontier. United Kingdom, Scarecrow Press, 2013.
9. ^ International Westerns pp. 303-304
10. ^ Harré, Rom; Moghaddam, Fathali M. (2013-10-21). The Psychology of Friendship and Enmity: Relationships in Love, Work, Politics, and War [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 166\. ISBN 978-1-4408-0375-8.
11. ^ a b c Sonja Simonyi, Csikós, Puszta, Goulash: Hungarian Frontier Imaginaries in 'The Wind Blows under Your Feet' and 'Brady's Escape'
12. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 162
13. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 164
14. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 167
15. ^ a b c d Franz, N. (2020) p. 169
16. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 170
17. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 175
18. ^ Franz, N. (2020) pp. 176, 1977
19. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 177
20. ^ Franz, N. (2020) pp. 163, 178
21. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 179
22. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 182
23. ^ Sing, Cowboy, sing
24. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 187
25. ^ Franz, N. (2020) p. 185

* v
* t
* e

Western genre

Western subgenres

* Acid Western
* Australian Western
* Contemporary Western
* Dacoit Western
* Epic Western
* Fantasy Western
* Florida Western
* Gothic Western
* Horror Western
* Northern
* Ostern
* Revisionist Western
* Science fiction Western
* Singing cowboy
* Space Western
* Spaghetti Western
* Weird Western
* Western romance
* Zapata Western

* v
* t
* e

Film genres

By style|

* Action
* Heroic bloodshed
* Hong Kong action
* Adventure
* Art
* Biographical
* Comedy
* Action
* Black
* Commedia all'italiana
* Sexy
* Dramedy
* Gross out
* Horror
* Parody
* Mo lei tau
* Remarriage
* Romantic
* Sex
* Screwball
* Silent
* Slapstick
* Cyberpunk
* Japanese
* Documentary
* Animated
* City symphony
* Docudrama
* Mockumentary
* Mondo
* Pseudo
* Semi
* Travel
* Video essay
* Drama
* Calligrafismo
* Dramedy
* Historical
* Legal
* Erotic
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Pink
* Sexploitation
* Thriller
* Educational
* Social guidance
* Epic
* Sword-and-sandal
* Experimental
* Exploitation
* see Exploitation film template
* Fantasy
* Comedy
* Contemporary
* Fantastique
* High
* Historical
* Magic realism
* Science
* Film noir
* Neo-noir
* Pulp noir
* Tech noir
* Gothic
* Romance
* Southern
* Space
* Suburban
* Urban
* Horror
* Arthouse
* Black
* Body
* Cannibal
* Chinese horror
* Christmas horror
* Comedy
* Eco
* Fantastique
* Found footage
* German underground
* Ghost
* Giallo
* List of films
* Holiday
* Japanese horror
* Korean horror
* Lovecraftian
* Melodrama
* Korean
* Natural
* New French Extremity
* Psycho-biddy
* Psychological
* Science fiction
* Slasher
* Splatter
* Satanic
* Maximalist film
* Minimalist film
* Mumblecore
* Musical
* Arthouse
* Backstage
* Jukebox
* Musicarello
* Operetta
* Sceneggiata
* Mystery
* Detective
* Occult detective
* Whodunit
* Giallo
* Crossover
* Pornographic
* Hardcore pornography
* Softcore pornography
* (Malayalam)
* Propaganda
* Reality
* Romantic
* Comedy
* Bromantic
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Paranormal
* Thriller
* Science fiction
* Art
* Comedy
* Fantastique
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Horror
* Military
* New Wave
* Space opera
* Steampunk
* Tokusatsu
* Western
* Slice of life
* Slow cinema
* Survival
* Thriller
* Comedy
* Erotic
* Financial
* Giallo
* Legal
* New French Extremity
* Political
* Psychological
* Romantic
* Techno
* Transgressive
* Cinema of Transgression
* Extreme cinema
* New French Extremity
* Trick

By theme|

* Animals
* Beach party
* Body swap
* Buddy
* Buddy cop
* Female
* Cabrito
* Cannibal
* Chicano
* Colonial
* Coming-of-age
* Concert
* Crime
* Detective
* Gangster
* Gentleman thief
* Gokudō
* Gong'an
* Heist
* Heroic bloodshed
* Hood
* Mafia
* Mafia comedy
* Mumbai underworld
* Poliziotteschi
* Yakuza
* Dance
* Disaster
* Apocalyptic
* Drug
* Psychedelic
* Stoner
* Dystopian
* Ecchi
* Ethnographic
* Exploitation
* Blaxploitation
* Mexploitation
* Turksploitation
* Extraterrestrial
* Food and drink
* Gendai-geki
* Ghost
* Goona-goona epic
* Gothic
* Romance
* Space
* Suburban
* Girls with guns
* Harem
* Hentai
* Lolicon
* Shotacon
* Tentacle erotica
* Homeland
* Isekai
* Jidaigeki
* Samurai
* Kaitō
* LGBTQ
* Yaoi
* Yuri
* Luchador
* Magical girl
* Martial arts
* Bruceploitation
* Chopsocky
* Gun fu
* Kung fu
* Ninja
* Wuxia
* Mecha
* Anime
* Monster
* Giant monster
* Kaiju
* Mummy
* Vampire
* Zombie
* Zombie comedy
* Mountain
* Mouth of Garbage
* Muslim social
* Nature
* Environmental issues
* Opera
* Outlaw biker
* Ozploitation
* Partisan film
* Prison
* Women
* Race
* Rape and revenge
* Road
* Rubble
* Rumberas
* Sexploitation
* Bavarian porn
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Mexican sex comedy
* Nazi exploitation
* Pornochanchada
* Nunsploitation
* Sex report
* Shoshimin-eiga
* Slavery
* Slice of life
* Snuff
* South Seas
* Sports
* Spy
* Eurospy
* Superhero
* Surfing
* Swashbuckler
* Sword-and-sandal
* Sword and sorcery
* Travel
* imaginary voyage
* Trial
* Vigilante
* War
* Anti-war
* Euro War
* Submarine
* Western
* Acid
* Contemporary Western
* Dacoit Western
* Fantasy
* Florida
* Horror
* Meat pie
* Northern
* Ostern
* Revisionist
* Science fiction
* Singing cowboy
* Space
* Spaghetti
* Weird Western
* Zapata Western

By movement
or period|

* Absolute
* American eccentric cinema
* Australian New Wave
* Auteur films
* Berlin School
* Bourekas
* Brighton School
* British New Wave
* Kitchen sink realism
* Budapest school
* Calligrafismo
* Cannibal boom
* Cinéma du look
* Cinema Novo
* Cinema of Transgression
* Cinéma pur
* Commedia all'italiana
* Czechoslovak New Wave
* Documentary Film Movement
* Dogme 95
* Erra Cinema
* European art cinema
* Film d'art
* Film gris
* Free Cinema
* French New Wave
* German Expressionist
* German underground horror
* Nigerian Golden Age
* Grupo Cine Liberación
* Heimatfilm
* Hollywood on the Tiber
* Hong Kong New Wave
* Indiewood
* Iranian New Wave
* Italian futurist
* Italian neorealist
* Japanese New Wave
* Kammerspielfilm
* L.A. Rebellion
* Lettrist
* Modernist film
* Mumblecore
* Neorealist
* New French Extremity
* New German
* New generation
* New Hollywood
* New Nollywood
* New Objectivity
* New Queer
* No wave
* Nuevo Cine Mexicano
* Pan-Indian film
* Parallel cinema
* Persian Film
* Poetic realist
* Polish Film School
* Poliziotteschi
* The Prague film school
* Prussian film
* Pure Film Movement
* Remodernist
* Romanian New Wave
* Slow cinema
* Spaghetti Western
* Socialist realist
* Social realist
* Kitchen sink realism
* Soviet parallel
* Structural
* Surrealist
* Sword-and-sandal
* Telefoni Bianchi
* Third Cinema
* Toronto New Wave
* Vulgar auteurism
* Yugoslav Black Wave

By demographic|

* Adult
* Black
* Children and family
* Anime
* Men
* Seinen
* Stag
* Teen
* Shōnen
* Shōjo
* Women
* Chick flick
* Josei

By format,
technique,
approach,
or production|

* 3D
* Actuality
* Animation
* Anime
* Art
* Cartoon
* Computer
* Stop-motion
* Traditional
* Anthology
* Art
* B movie
* Behind-the-scenes
* Black-and-white
* Blockbuster
* Cinéma vérité
* Classical Hollywood cinema
* Collage
* Color
* Compilation
* Composite
* Computer screen
* Cult
* midnight movie
* Database cinema
* Docufiction
* Ethnofiction
* Experimental
* Abstract
* Feature
* Featurette
* Film à clef
* Film-poem
* Found footage
* Hyperlink cinema
* Independent
* Guerrilla filmmaking
* List of American independent films
* Interstitial art
* Live action
* animation
* Low-budget
* Major film studios
* Masala
* Maximalist film
* Message picture
* Meta-film
* Minimalist film
* Mockbuster
* Modernist film
* Musical short
* Mythopoeia
* Neorealist
* No-budget
* One-shot
* Paracinema
* Participatory
* Poetry
* Postmodernist
* Reverse motion
* Satire
* Sceneggiata
* Semidocumentary
* Serial
* Shinpa
* Short
* Silent
* Slow cinema
* Socialist realist
* Sound
* Underground
* Video nasty
* Vulgar auteurism
* Z movie

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template